


Stronger

by 1f_this_be_madness



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Gen, I know how often Katniss thinks about her father, Spoilers for The Hunger Games, so I wrote it like she was (maybe) saying all of this to him, this is a poem detailing the events of The Hunger Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 14:24:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5167133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1f_this_be_madness/pseuds/1f_this_be_madness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a difficult world she lives in. But she is stronger than the Games.</p><p>(In which Katniss tells her story through poetry)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stronger

To prove to myself  
That I’m stronger than most,  
I will not admit  
That I oft see a ghost.

The form of my father,  
As he once was,  
Covered all in coal dust,  
But the whites of his eyes.

His voice, pure and strong,  
Made the mockingjays sing,  
Such joy to my family it would bring;  
A mine blast made everything wrong.

Me and my sister, both hollow-cheeked,  
Starving so slowly, unable to eat.  
My mother’s sorrow keeps her curled in bed all day,  
But our troubles will not easily go away.

Yet out of the dark  
Of the deepest despair,  
Someone was listening,  
For Peeta was there.

Burning the bread, kind,  
This baker’s boy gave me hope  
To hunt past the Meadow  
And the Capitol’s scope.

Yet on May 8th of my sixteenth year,  
The 74th Hunger Games are here.  
And Prim, sweetest Prim, my dear little sister,  
Her name is called…and I volunteer.

One tribute of many…out of twenty-four,  
But Effie Trinket has another surprise in store.  
“Peeta Mellark!” she says, the boy tribute’s name  
‘Tis that of the baker’s son—he is the very same.

Haymitch, our mentor, is drunk as can be,  
Yet the ones who get us sponsors are he and Effie.  
To make those watching the Games remember us,  
Peeta and I are set on fire—and as another plus

During the interview with Caesar Flickerman,  
I can hardly speak when he asks me of Prim.  
Peeta’s the one the crowd cheers to see;  
What makes it much better—he says he loves me!

I do not believe him, my feelings are in a whirl  
Haymitch spits, “He’s made you desirable, girl!”  
This is the story to remember: I absolutely must get it right.  
We’re star crossed lovers and the audience believes it.

I cannot sleep at all this night.  
Pacing in my room that is but an ornate cage,  
Finally I go to the roof;  
The fresh air will defuse my rage.

Peeta’s stocky silhouette  
Looms black against the sky,  
It makes me want to run  
Though I’m not quite sure why.

Looking in his eyes of the brightest blue  
I ask if he will kill another; he says he will have to.  
“I’m not a true contender anyway…I just want to show the Capitol that I’m more than just a piece in their Games.”

Now I’m off to the Games—Peeta is too—  
It is there, in the woods, that I first meet Rue.  
Tiny, brown-skinned, a quick little sprite  
This girl cuddles beside me through one cold night.

I believe I can save her—just as I saved Prim…  
But the outcome is extremely grim.  
Marvel from District 1 snares Rue tight;  
With one shot of an arrow I tell him good night.

I didn’t then, but I know now  
Exactly what Peeta Mellark means.  
With the death of Rue I immediately knew  
The Capitol’s hands cannot remain clean.

After wreathing her in flowers  
And singing her to sleep,  
I set out to locate Peeta  
Who had a wound that was most deep.

The two of us, we can both win  
A first in the history of the Games;  
Yet we must fight Clove and Cato  
Who I believe have gone insane.

In the cave Peeta tells me when his love for me began.  
Feeling horrible for the killing, I decide to take a stand.  
Full of hate and wishing to cheat President Snow,  
Suddenly I think of Juliet and her Romeo:

Two tributes, somewhat lacking dignity,  
In the arena, where we lay our scene,  
Must fight to the death or stage a mutiny  
If the Capitol they are willing to demean.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Suzanne Collins as always.
> 
> I wrote this for a high school project about four years ago. To practice summarizing a work of fiction, my creative writing teacher had us use a less-common medium. And what is less typical of Katniss Everdeen than her deciding to pour her feelings out in a poem?


End file.
